What’s In a Number? Why Metrics Matter in Rehab Therapy

If you’re a sports fan, you’re probably well acquainted with the tired debate over analytics. The fight is mostly over, to be clear; the stats nerds have claimed victory. But that doesn’t stop star athletes of yesteryear from taking up arms against a sea of data, and by opposing, ending…well, their relevance. Because it’s not just front office executives who are into data these days; fans on their couch have seen how quantifying performance has helped their favorite team keep pace with the competition. 

So what does this have to do with rehab therapy—a profession where, despite the number of athletes and athletic types, the only balls to be found aren’t there to be thrown or shot? Based on the numbers, rehab therapy is still in the phase sports fans once were: struggling to fully grasp the data now available to them and what it all means. And just like sports teams, practices that can’t fully wrap their arms around analytics risk missing out on the performance edge they can get from insights they can’t glean with the naked eye. 

So, if you’re still on the fence about collecting data in your own clinic, here are a few reasons you should get on board.  

You need to find an edge to keep up with the clinic down the street.

You thought the tortured sports metaphors were over? Guess again! Rehab therapy might be a community, but just like your favorite league, you’re still competing with friends and colleagues for new patients.  Hopefully, you’ve got some different marketing efforts going—but do you actually know how those are performing? Or are you just aiming your money cannon (which in this economy might be t-shirt cannon-sized) at your different channels, without much thought about how effective those channels actually are? 

In this specific example, looking at your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and your Conversion Rate for each marketing campaign can tell you what’s an effective use of resources and where you’re throwing good money after bad. And it’s not limited to marketing, either; if you’re tracking the right data, you can look at other costs and expenses compared to what you’re bringing in; even if you can’t make cuts in certain areas, at least you have an idea that you need to boost revenue somehow. 

Cold, hard numbers balance out experiential data. 

Cast your mind back to childhood. There’s probably an athlete you thought was a world-beater when, in truth, the numbers don’t bear that out. (I’m a Chicago Bears fan, so I’m not short of options.) Our perceptions can be clouded by limited perspective or even feelings, which isn’t always the worst thing in rehab therapy—a profession where relationships are critical not only for outcomes but also for creating a successful practice.

Vibes alone shouldn’t be the basis for decisions, though. As Bill Parcells once said, “You are what your record says you are,” and if your record suggests your practice is underperforming, it’s probably time to take a hard look at what you’re doing wrong as much as where you’re succeeding. You’re likely to remember the patients who had glowing words about the treatment they received, but your patient satisfaction or Net Promoter Score® is going to capture the folks who didn’t enjoy their care so much but are too polite to say something to your face. 

There’s also the fact that there’s simply too much information across all the visits, claims, and collections for any one person to intuit overall performance. You might have an idea that you’re doing well or poorly, but you need those numbers if you want to determine where you are relative to your benchmarks. Those numbers can also show you where undiscovered opportunities lie to increase revenue, boost the number of patients coming through the door, or just get more efficient in your operations. 

Your value to payers is going to be in the numbers.    

Chances are, you’re feeling a lot like TJ Watt right now: undervalued relative to your skill and your performance. And like a star edge rusher, you’ve probably looked into renegotiating contracts with payers to at least get a little closer to your value. Like NFL franchises, insurance companies didn’t get where they are by being overly generous, and while as a therapist you can benefit from the support of your own fans, ultimately you need hard numbers to bring to the table in negotiations. Outcomes data tell the story of how you helped your patients recover in a cost-effective way. The right data—and a willingness to walk away from that contract—can be the difference between running out your existing contract and getting paid like a premier QB—er, PT.  

Think of us as your guide to advanced business stats. 

There is still one lingering issue, which is that most rehab therapists don’t really know where to start when it comes to tracking metrics in their practice. We’re looking to help change that, though. We’ve got a free guide to the business operations benchmarks you should be tracking, and later this month, we’re hosting a webinar where we’ll talk about the importance of metrics in running an efficient practice and how you can start to build a culture that buys into a data-centric approach to decision-making.